Bulletin. the. Winter 2008

Transcription

1 the BREEDER S Bulletin Sheep Genetics PO Box U254 University of New England Armidale NSW 2351 Telephone: Fax: info@sheepgenetics.org.au Winter 2008

2 Sheep Genetics PO Box U254 UNE Armidale NSW 2351 Ph: Fax: Richard Apps Manager Sam Gill Project Offi cer MERINOSELECT Matthew Dwyer Project Offi cer LAMBPLAN Stephen Field Database Administrator David Rubie Database Administrator Fiona McLoughlin Project Administrator Nicole Williams Project Administrator Manager s Report Welcome to the winter edition of the Sheep Genetics Breeder s Bulletin. Thank you to those breeders who responded to our call for contributions to the Breeder Profi le column. Please keep them coming. Looking through sale ads running in the rural press I note good numbers of LAMBPLAN clients using the ASBV logo to promote their sale. However, few MERINOSELECT clients are doing this. While I acknowledge that it is early days for many Merino breeders I encourage all breeders to use the appropriate ASBV logo to collectively raise the profi le of MERINOSELECT and LAMBPLAN. Please refer to the accompanying article and your Communications Kit for presentation and marketing ideas. Data is steadily fl owing in from the Sheep CRC Information Nucleus sites and being included in the routine evaluations. This is, and will increasingly, provide us very valuable additional data and sire comparisons to enhance breeding values. Please note the fi eld day schedule in the CRC INF article. I strongly encourage you to attend one of these days and their follow-ups in subsequent years to keep abreast of the results as they unfold. With the selling season under way again I take this opportunity to wish each of you every success with your sales and purchases of new sires for this breeding season. Regards Meat & Livestock Australia acknowledges the matching funds provided by the Australian Government to support the research and development detailed in this publication Richard Apps Manager Contents Introduction 2 News 2 Breeder Profi le 3 Industry Report 4 Technical Update 6 Quality Assurance & Marketing Tips 7

3 Introduction This season s Breeders Bulletin is once again full of great articles to keep you up to date with what is happening in Sheep Genetics and the greater sheep industry. This edition features an overview of the Sheep CRC s Information Nucleus fl ock and what it aims to provide to industry. We also take a look at scoring maternal behaviour, give you some hints on marketing your stud using the ASBV logos and explain how to record cull and commercial animals. This time we head over to the west to get an insight into another Sheep Genetics subscriber, Jilakin Downs Dorper and White Dorper stud in Kulin, Western Australia. Remember if you would like to have your stud profi led in the Breeder s Bulletin please send an article of approximately 500 words along with a high quality photo to info@sheepgenetics.org.au or contact the Sheep Genetics offi ce on (02) We are always on the lookout for great pictures from your stud or of your animals to feature in Sheep Genetics publications. If you would like to submit any images for use please contact the offi ce on the above details. News from Sheep Genetics Team Member s New Arrival Sheep Genetics has another extended family member with the birth of a baby girl for Anne Ramsay. Phoebe Clare Burbury Alm was born on the 28th of June and from all accounts is a real bundle of joy. Please join with us in congratulating Anne and her husband Darren and wishing them all the best. Landmark Workshop Walbundrie in southern NSW was the location of the most recent Sheep Genetics workshop. Held in conjunction with Landmark Albury and Wagga Wagga, the introductory workshop covered aspects of both LAMBPLAN and MERINOSELECT. Attendees on the day included Landmark agents along with local stud breeders and commercial producers representing Merino, maternal and terminals breeds. A big thank you goes out to Graham and Isabella Grinter, Retallack Border Leicesters, Ariah Park, John and Julie Wiesner, Glengarry White Suffolks, Walla Walla and Doug Mitchell, Rene Poll Dorsets, Culcairn for supplying rams for the demonstrations on the day. questionable weather, Sheepvention was, for once, a sunny delight. The Sheep Genetics team was well represented at these two events and it was great to catch up with so many clients and cast an eye over the fruits of their labour. The number of animals participating in the production classes at these events - Merinos, terminals and maternals - was really encouraging and will no doubt continue to grow in the coming years. Upcoming Sales As we head into the spring ram selling season we invite all Sheep Genetics subscribers to submit their sale dates, website details or electronic sale catalogues to the Sheep Genetics offi ce so we can list them in the new events section of our website This is another avenue where you can market your business and your commitment to providing objective genetic information (ASBVs) to assist your clients with their selection decisions. Industry Events The arrival of the winter Breeder s Bulletin can mean only one thing - Sheepvention and the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show have been and gone. Although Bendigo threw up some 2

4 Breeder Profile Sara Wilson Breeder Information Breeders: Keith and Sara Wilson Stud: Jilakin Downs Location: Kulin, WA Property Size: 8500ha Stud Ewes: 2000 Keith and Sara Wilson of Jilakin Downs, Kulin WA, have a firm belief that sheep are an important part of their mixed farming enterprise, which includes broadacre cereal crops, legumes, commercial prime lamb production and a White Dorper and Dorper stud. Their aim is to have sustainable enterprises that work with the soil types and environment, as well as having production that meets market needs, timing and expectation. Ten years ago, meat production was a by product of their wool enterprise. Years of Merino breeding were being fine tuned with attention given to fibre diameter, fleece weight and lambing percentage. The decision was made to Give the Merino s 5 more years. Extensive AI programs were undertaken using rams that had been fleece weighed, scanned, tested and analysed. The ewe flock was also fibre tested and pregnancy scanned. The result was a high twinning flock where wool cut was increasing and fibre diameter falling, however, this still was not enough to justify staying in Merinos. Numerous prime lamb and low maintenance breeds were introduced and trialed across the whole flock, including Poll Dorset, Texel, Suffolk, Finn, Damara and eventually White Dorpers. Attention was given to the market signals, climate forecasts and the changing and more demanding needs of consumers for continuous production and ethical farming practices. The performance of the White Dorpers made them a clear choice. Initially it was simply the introduction of White Dorper rams to begin development of a low input, low maintenance high output cross-bred ewe flock. In 2004 Jilakin Downs White Dorper stud was established and Dorpers were added in 2005/06. With a flock of unlinked and subjectively classed sheep, and only a small amount of raw data to go by, breeding began. The initial ET program was done with one unlinked sire, across a group of ewes with no Sheep Genetics data. The need to get some good comparative data and across flock comparisons was a clear early goal. Sires were introduced from leading studs around Australia, some with Sheep Genetics linkage and some without. As this was occurring, the commercial cross-bred ewe flock was steadily increasing. They seemed to benefit from the early joining, as it prevented the ewes getting fat and they typically lambed down 70% to 90% at months of age and up to 130% for subsequent lambing. The cross-bred ewes and lambs are important feedback for the stud. This year lambs with similar genetics were sold off at varying stages to learn more about their over the hooks performance. The lambs were all processed through WAMMCO at Katanning from February 2008 through to June 2008, where carcases ranged up to 35kgs. The staged slaughter was done to learn more about when the lambs put down fat and when the optimal selling window is. The lambs proved to have excellent carcase confirmation and meat distribution with high loin and leg yield from a 15kg carcase onwards and could be carried through to a heavy weight carcase without running to fat. The Jilakin Downs studs are focused on the needs of commercial prime lamb producers and extensively use LAMBPLAN data to assist with breeding decisions. Subjective classing by South African classers is also used as a tool, however the needs of Australian growers are kept at the forefront during this classing. As most growers are retaining the ewe progeny, temperament and confirmation are considered when breeding decisions are made. Three new genetic lines of embryos have been imported from South Africa. The embryos are from flocks that have been extensively classed and one line has been bred purely for carcase performance. These new embryos will add new genetic lines to Australia and will be used to further develop the stud, along with the leading progeny from the homebred sheep. Each Bulletin we would like to profi le a participating stud of Sheep Genetics. For this we require a short profi le of your operation and a photo would also be great. Please send all profiles to info@sheepgenetics.org.au or PO Box U254 UNE Armidale NSW The Breeder s Bulletin Winter

5 Industry Report The Information Nucleus Flock To capitalise on future molecular genetic opportunities, the Sheep CRC is looking to identify a range of traits through genetic markers. These include traits already known and measured, such as eye muscle depth, fi bre diameter and reproductive performance plus new and novel traits. The Sheep CRC research programs aim to improve the ability of wool to deliver predictable next-to-skin comfort and dye-ability, for meat to come from high yielding carcases with desirable nutritional qualities and for sheep to be more resistant to parasites and better mothers. The Sheep CRC aims to develop appropriate molecular genetic tests that can be used to enhance current ASBVs as a means to identify the genetic merit of animals. The Information Nucleus is the key means to investigate and develop these tests and to investigate other management options. There is a close working relationship between the Sheep CRC, Sheep Genetics and the 4 Sheep Genomics Program, with the work of each being complementary. This new program will not disseminate genetics and will not be producing or advocating any breed or type of sheep, rather the tools developed will allow industry and individual breeders to better pursue the breeding direction that is of value to them and their commercial clients. How will the Information Nucleus help breeders? Key young sires and some proven older sires from industry fl ocks will be selected annually for progeny testing in the Information Nucleus. Their progeny phenotype information will be included immediately in the Sheep Genetics database and contribute to ASBVs. Their additional progeny will increase the accuracy of the sire ASBVs as well as the accuracy of ASBVs for other related animals, because of the greater across-fl ock linkages. New traits that prove valuable to industry can be added directly to Sheep Genetics. A major advance will be the validation of markers that will contribute to the development of molecular estimated breeding values. These may be incorporated, where appropriate, into enhanced ASBVs that can be used to more accurately select animals at a very young age and further increase the rate of genetic improvement. Breeders and commercial producers will be able to quickly use the developments in new genetic technology and molecular information to advance their chosen breeding objectives. Both individual flocks and sheep across industry will achieve rapid genetic gain. What is the Information Nucleus Structure? The Information Nucleus comprises eights fl ocks of ewes across Australia, with a total of 5000 ewes, mated to 100 industry sires annually for 5 years. This will generate a diverse range of phenotypes and massive amounts of genetic information with which to develop new and improved breeding values. The Information Nucleus sheep will not just have the meat and wool tests done that we see in modern ram-breeding fl ocks, but will have more monitoring and more intensive procedures and new tests carried out at more frequent intervals. This requires staff with specialist skills and equipment that are not currently mainstream, practical or affordable in the wider industry, but which will ultimately develop tools that are practical and affordable. The research stations where the Information Nucleus fl ocks will be run are: 1. Kirby Research Station, University of New England, Armidale NSW, 2a. Trangie Agricultural Research Centre, NSW DPI, Trangie, NSW 2b. Cowra Agricultural Research and Advisory Station, NSW DPI, Cowra, NSW 3a. DPI Hamilton Centre, DPI VIC, Hamilton, VIC 3b. DPI Rutherglen Centre, DPI VIC, Rutherglen, VIC 4a. Struan Research Station, SARDI, Struan, SA

6 4b. Turretfi eld Research Station, SARDI, Rosedale, SA 5. Great Southern Agricultural Research Institute, DAFWA, Katanning, WA These sites represent a range of different environmental conditions across Australia, being particularly important for assessment of the interactions of genetics with the environment. What ewes are in the Information Nucleus? Each of the fl ocks comprises 500 to 1000 ewes. The fi rst two matings represent the major sheep types within industry and generate Merino (MxM), Border Leicester x Merino (BLxM) and Terminal fi rst (TxM) and second-cross progeny (TxBLM) as seen in table 1. The matings in years three to fi ve will include an expandable range of breeds. Table 1. Information Nucleus fl ock structure Sires Ewes Progeny What sires have been chosen? Approximately 100 sires will be used across the 5000 ewes each year. In successive years a proportion of the sires will be used from one or more previous years to give the necessary across-year genetic linkages. The sires were chosen by a team comprising experts in genetic analysis, representatives from each of the research sites and Sheep Genetics staff. Almost all sires chosen were already recorded in the Sheep Genetics database, because such animals bring a wealth of historic data, which is linked to a large number of other industry fl ocks. This adds considerable value to the data being generated and in return allows it to be directly linked to a wide range of industry fl ocks. A number of sires from outside the databases were also chosen to provide access to some additional bloodlines. Secondly, each individual sire was chosen for particular meat, wool or sheep characteristics. The sires chosen are typically leaders in one or more of these production traits. Genetic diversity of the selected team is also important, so that a broad range of bloodlines, strains and breeds were sampled. The Information Nucleus is not aimed at being a breed or sire evaluation. Certain breeds and sires were chosen in the fi rst year to be broadly representative of industry, Retained females Slaughter animals 40 Merino (M) 2000 M 1500 MxM Border Leicester (BL) 1000 M 750 BLxM Terminal (T) 1000 M 750 TxM BLM 750 TxBLM but the breeds, numbers and stud origin will vary to ensure diversity, and to generate the range of data required to develop breeding values and tests applicable to wider industry. What will be done with the progeny? The progeny will be evaluated for phenotypes for a large number of growth, carcase, meat, wool, reproduction and parasite-related traits, with about half of the wethers going for slaughter. The crossbred lambs will be grown out and slaughtered in processing plants with industry partners. Detailed information on carcase and meat traits, meat yield and samples for laboratory testing will be collected. The MxM progeny will be evaluated for a wide range of wool traits and the wethers will be subsequently slaughtered for carcase and meat evaluation. The MxM and BLxM ewes will be retained and mated naturally to evaluate reproduction traits. Blood and tissue samples will also be collected for genotyping and the molecular genetic studies. Information Nucleus Flock Open Days Venue Date Katanning WA 16th October 2008 Trangie NSW 20th November 2008 Struan SA 27th November 2008 Rutherglen VIC 17th February 2009 Hamilton VIC February 2009 Kirby (Armidale) NSW Turretfi eld SA March nd April TOTAL Cowra NSW TBA The Breeder s Bulletin Winter

7 Technical Update Christie Iker, Daniel Brown and Andrew Swan - Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit Selecting For More Lambs Maternal Behaviour Score What is maternal behaviour score? Lamb survival is a complex trait that is infl uenced by a number of factors. The ability of the ewe to provide a nurturing environment for her lamb is essential in maximising lamb survival and growth. Maternal behaviour score is a measurement of a ewe s behaviour towards her lamb, which is an indicator of the degree of nurturing that the ewe will provide. How are maternal behaviour scores measured? Maternal behaviour scores are measured when tagging the lamb, within 24 of hours of birth. During the tagging process the recorder makes an observation of the ewe s behaviour as the lamb/s are being handled. In the case of multiple lambs, observations of the ewes behaviour should be made as the recorder handles a single lamb, then the ewe s score is averaged across all the lambs. The maternal behaviour score is measured on a 5 point scale as described below: the handler has moved away. Score 3 Good mother. Ewe moves more than 10 metres away from the lamb during the tagging process, circles at a distance and continues to show interest in the lamb. Score 4 Average mother. Ewe moves up to 20 metres away during the tagging process and returns cautiously to the lamb after the handler has moved away. Score 5 Poor mother. Ewe moves more than 20 metres away at tagging and has to be brought back to the lamb. Why should you measure maternal behaviour traits? Previous research has shown that there may be genetic relationships between maternal behaviour score and production traits. Preliminary analyses conducted at the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU) has shown that there may be genetic and phenotypic relationships between maternal behaviour score, lamb growth and number of lambs weaned (NLW). These results are promising because they suggest that selection for improved maternal behaviour may benefi t the producer through improved ewe reproductive performance and lamb growth. More data is required to estimate the genetic relationships with accuracy and, as such, collection of these records by breeders will facilitate genetic analyses and potential development of appropriate tools for selection. Score 1 Excellent mother. Ewe stays close to the lamb during the tagging process. Score 2 Ewe retreats but stays within 10 metres and returns immediately once 6

8 Quality Assurance & Marketing Tips Matthew Dwyer Recording Cull and Commercial Animals Sheep Genetics gives you the opportunity to enter animals into the database at no charge when they are identifi ed as a cull or commercial. The information submitted on these animals is used in the analysis to calculate ASBVs of other animals and to give robustness to the data. However, as they do not incur a database charge any animal identifi ed as a cull or commercial will not have ASBVs reported. It is important to correctly identify cull and commercial animals in your fl ock recording software so that they can be distinguished from billable animals. The correct method of recording cull and commercial animals is as follows: For cull animals the unique 16 digit identifi cation number should include the letters CU in the last six digits e.g CU0001. You will notice that this still follows the routine Sheep Genetics 16 digit identifi cation number with the fi rst two digits being the breed code, the next four digits are the fl ock code, followed by the year of birth. The difference lies in the last six digits where the year of birth abbreviation is replaced with CU followed by what number cull animal it is. Similarly for commercial animals the fi rst 10 digits are as normal, however in the last six you need to include a CO and the numbers to indicate if it is the first commercial animal, second commercial animal, third commercial animal and so on e.g CO0001, CO0002, CO0003. For more information on recording cull and commercial animals or 16 digit identifi cation numbers in general please contact the Sheep Genetics offi ce or refer to pages 16, 29 and 38 of the Sheep Genetics Breeder s Quality Assurance Manual. Recording Faecal Consistency and WEC by Species Following the feedback we received on recording worm egg counts (WEC) in the last newsletter we have decided to revisit this issue in more detail. Recently there has been a steady increase in the number of breeders adding WEC to their recording program and we have received positive feedback on the value buyers are placing on this ASBV. To ensure we are getting WEC in a consistent manner the records submitted to Sheep Genetics should be a total count minus Nematodirus or a count of each worm species separately. During the last few months there have been several queries regarding the role of adjusting WEC for faecal consistency. This has been discussed by the Sheep Genetics Technical Committee at its recent meeting. As a result we encourage you to record and submit faecal consistency score due to the strong relationship it has with dag score. If your lab provides faecal consistency scores or WEC adjusted for faecal consistency please submit the unadjusted WEC and the faecal consistency score separately not the adjusted score. To record a count of each species separately, or a faecal consistency score, you may need to defi ne new traits in your on-farm software. These trait defi nitions are as follows: WEC N = Worm egg count Nematodirus WEC S = Worm egg count Strongyle WEC H = Worm egg count Haemonchus FC = Faecal consistency For more information on recording WEC please refer to page 36 in the Breeder s Quality Assurance manual or contact the Sheep Genetics offi ce. The Breeder s Bulletin Winter

9 Marketing Your Business with LAMBPLAN and MERINOSELECT ASBV Logos As a ram breeder involved in LAMBPLAN or MERINOSELECT the use of the relevant ASBV logo is integral to the promotion of your business. The ASBV logo indicates your participation in genetic evaluation backed by strong quality assurance procedures. Buyers can be confi dent of selecting objectively measured animals based on genetic merit. The value of the LAMBPLAN and MERINOSELECT ASBV logos can be viewed in the way the Heart Foundation s tick program is regarded a stamp of approval for quality. In the same way the tick indicates healthy food choices that meet certain standards and criteria, the use of the LAMBPLAN or MERINOSELECT ASBV logo in your marketing materials indicates that you are performance recording and allowing buyers to select the best possible animals for their individual breeding programs. The ASBV logos can be displayed in many situations - anywhere you mention details of your performance recorded animals that meet the requirements to receive ASBVs. Examples include: Sale catalogues Pen cards Websites Brochures Newsletters Advertisements When an ASBV logo is displayed the following can be certain: Animals are reported with ASBVs and can be compared across fl ock Meet minimum standards for across fl ock linkage Meet minimum standards for quality assurance Meet minimum standards for trait accuracy Have accuracy reported Tips for using the logos: Use the logos as jpeg fi les at 300dpi for best resolution and printing quality Do not alter the logos in anyway as it will reduce their quality i.e. stretch them, change their colour Make sure that when reproducing the logos the following colours are used: o PMS: Blue PMS 661 o CYMK: Blue C100 M72 Y0 K6 and Black R0 G0 B0 o RGB: Blue R0 G64 B134 and Black R0 G0 B0 Try to keep logos to a standard size The following ASBV logos are available from the Sheep Genetics website or by contacting the Sheep Genetics offi ce on (02) or at info@sheepgenetics.org.au With the sale season underway please note that Sheep Genetics has branded sale cards available for purchase from our office. Understanding ASBVs and Introduction to LAMBPLAN and MERNOSELECT brochures are also available at no charge to distribute to clients. 8 The Breeder s Bulletin Winter 2008